Say Mecha Talk, Lets Have a Brave Series Topic!

[DuelGundam2099]

I don't think we have one of these so it'll be my job to make one!

http://i.imgur.com/qGaKQl.jpg

Also known as the Yuusha series in Japan! What is your favorite series out of the nine* of them (eleven if you count the games)? Who is your favorite character? Who is your favorite mecha? Who is your favorite monster? What concepts do you like? What would you like to see for those that never saw any of the series? For those that have, how many have you seen? Do you know other people that enjoy this franchise? Do you agree with the amount of attention/theories that revolve around these series gets? Did you get into the franchise or just specific shows? If the former, what was your first?


*I count Betterman as a Brave series since it's canon to GaoGaiGar. Ten and eleven are Baan Gaan and Reiburn (did I spell that right?) from the Brave Saga dualogy and New Century Brave War, respectively.

I'll post my thoughts shortly, for now I'm intrigued on what the people around here have to say about it.

[Destiny_Gundam]

Careful with all the favourite questions, there.

Anyways, I've only seen GaoGaiGar and some of Da Garn.

GaoGaiGar TV was pretty okay, though not as amazing as its reputation suggests. Final, however, is pure awesome. Suffers from a bit of lag in the middle but when it gets awesome it really gets awesome.

I loved what I saw of Da Garn a lot more than GaoGaiGar and I wish I could watch more of it.

I will sometimes go to Youtube and look up the combination sequences. The Brave series have some of the best.

[DuelGundam2099]

Careful with all the favourite questions, there.

I figured if there was in-depth discussion it'd be okay like the best gundam character thread.

I have yet to see Exkaiser or Da-Garn, so I'll just do the rest.

Fighbird: Not just my favorite Brave series but also my favorite anime of the 20th century. Yeah I said it! The sub villains were actually quite comical and I like how easily Katori (considering how often they used it I almost thought it was his first name after awhile!) can switch between being the likeable everyday good neighbor to tough-as-nails fighter so easily. With that he's easily my fourth favorite anime character after Getter Robo's Ryoma Nagare, Gravion's Klein Sandman, and Steel Jeeg's Hiroshi Shiba (who I undoubtedly think Katori was based on to begin with ). Draias was also a really cool villain; unlike most anime villains he is willing to throw himself into the ring and actually possess a serious threat and that is BEFORE he mutates into his organic form! The only things preventing this from being my favorite anime are the just okay ending theme and Momoko, she's annoying at times.

Might Gaine: LEEEEEEETS MIGHT GAIIIIIIIINE! Might Gaine is one of those series that has the good parts being really good and the bad parts very mediocre. I liked the protagonist cast and although most of the super AI mechs have no personality I do like the design of Might Gaine itself. Watching the series over the course that I did I grew an appreciation for them, so much so that Great Might Gaine became my favorite Brave of the franchise. The use of gritty cinematography also gives a nice crime feel to it. I noticed that every minor character seems to die and considering this was made at the same time as Victory Gundam I am not surprised. The problem with this series was the villains, they were either flat as hell or were built up so very little. Wolfgang and Hoi got better after they became good guys, but Mifune and Catherine? *shrivels* Brought the series down for me; one was an unnecessary nationalist extremist and the other was a complete spoiled brat (I seriously felt bad for her butler, Audrey). I can't count Joe in there because technically he's an anti hero. Exeevee wasn't TOO bad, although given how he was brainwashed by Black Noir I expected him to have A level of humanity but oh well. BN could have also been built up for more than, oh I don't know, just six episodes. At least the final battle with Imperial was awesome as hell. I also thought the last episode's wedding was off, isn't Sally only 14? The series is my least favorite for now (see Goldran), but still very enjoyable nonetheless.

J-Decker: My first non-GaoGaiGar Brave series. I genuinely enjoyed the characters from their cheery personalities to the personal struggles they go through and even some dark psychological philosophy if you think about it. However, it is a comedy and tries to act cool and you know what? It works! It is an adventurous cop show and the moments in it were quite touching. Yes, it may be a little too "cutesy" at times (specifically at the end), but I don't mind personally. I enjoyed the use of kaiju, and to a lesser extent Ultraman, references. I thought Yuuta was going to be an annoying protagonist with his helium voice, but he actually managed to grow a personality and in a way was able to create a charm of his own that I kind of find cute.* Interesting to note is that combination sequences only happen once every few episodes and the scene transitions can be choppy as hell, but oh well. It actually disturbs me a little that some people actually call this shotacon (owe my brain, owe, owe, owe) or call the female cast robosexuals (not sure if to face palm or point and laugh).

*Before anyone gets any funny ideas about how I use the word "cute"

Goldran: I've seen the first 20 episodes and am currently watching it (from 9 onward I have to watch these in Chinese dubs 'cause even raw don't exist stream wise)........... This series makes me want to punch a wall. Action scenes, mech designs, and the occasional stupid comedy by Walter aside, it can be annoying as f**k. Most of the stupidity/lack of common sense/horrid use of geography I can get over, but fraggin' Shanalra...... I'll discuss about her another day; she's so bad she actually trumped the cast of Nanoha as my least favorite anime character of all time. I will say this much: Advenger is cool as hell, although where does he put his weapons when he is not using them?

Dagwon: It's like Gundam Wing minus the many one sided battles AND more character variety. Easily one of the best protagonist casts in any anime I've ever seen, they're all unique in personalities and powers in makes you appreciate the work put into them. The amount of references to the various Ultraman series and kaiju movies were nice to see. It could have been better, specifically the lack of time DatThunder/Thunder Dagwon get and the potential they wasted with Genocide. It could have done better with the ending, but oh well. I also kind of wished that they did more with Super Fire Dagwon, but at least we had Power Dagwon and he was awesome as hell. The only thing I did not like about the series was the music, it was kind of just "eh". I also watched the two part OVA and enjoyed it despite having no subtitles although I have to wonder why the redesigns of the Dagwon officers? Perhaps they tried to pull an Endless Waltz. Either way, this anime makes my top ten of all time and is my second favorite after Fighbird.

GaoGaiGar: What hasn't been said? It was my first Brave series (although not the first one I finished, Betterman has that title) My thoughts are basic: Very solid series, I like some mech designs over others, very good art style, the Primeval arc could have been executed better, the kids are annoying, the OVA known as FINAL was awesome as hell, and half the GGG staff was kind of boring (I said "half" for a reason). To think I thought this anime was trash after seeing a few clips on YouTube and I got into it because someone threatened to talk about me on /m/.

Betterman: Deep, dark, psychological, lots of science babble, awesome creatures (especially Kankel), and very trippy. Outside of the music there was nothing I did not like about it. I actually enjoy this more than Might Gaine, J-Decker, and GaoGaiGar.

[Strike Zero]

As I imagine is the case with most people, GaoGaiGar was the first entry into the Brave series that I watched, followed by GaoGaiGar Final, though contrary to popular opinion I actually consider the TV series to be superior to Final. Final was a great epic to be sure, but I ended up preferring lighter tone offered by the original. Besides, in terms of awesomeness, the overall show ended up hitting its stride with episode 49. Everything about that episode was so perfect, so moving, so unbelievably awesome that none of the stunts they they pulled in Final, as exciting as they all were, could have possibly hoped matched up to it.

I've also seen a couple episodes of Goldran The Brave of Gold, but not much else beyond that. Great Goldran isn't among my most favorite robots, but he gets points for being a guy who transforms from a Mecha Godzilla made out of solid gold.

Design-wise, the three of the GaoGaiGars aside, my favorite Braves are King Exkaiser, J-Decker, Da-Garn X and Might Gaine. All of their designs in particular are things of sheer beauty. The rest of the robots I've seen range from nice to simply uninspired.

It actually disturbs me a little that some people actually call this shotacon (owe my brain, owe, owe, owe) or call the female cast robosexuals (not sure if to face palm or point and laugh).

Are you implying that there is something wrong with being a robosexual? Because that's what it sounds like you're implying.

[Gyra Solune]

I'm thinking that, while generally being very very cut-and-dry super robot shows that often feel more toy-driven than anything (even if they may not be), and primarily appealing to a younger audience whose state of mind is "WHOO GIANT ROBOTS BEAT THE BAD GUYS UP" and thusly the story is very simple and rarely ever deep or intricate, you can count on the Brave series to be very fun, very engaging, surprisingly character-driven stories with good robot action, nice production values, and generally managing to not be boring despite tending to have a typical monster-of-the-week plot for a good 50 episodes or so. They bring back the spirit of older shows like Mazinger or Trider or the like, while giving it a fresh breath of modernity, taking away the aged elements that honestly make them a bit frustrating to watch to current audiences while still keeping the same formula and plot outline.

Basically put, they're good, solid super robot shows that are nice and tidied up and a good thing to poke at for a casual viewer to get an idea at the very core of super robots.

[Destiny_Gundam]

Are you implying that there is something wrong with being a robosexual? Because that's what it sounds like you're implying.

Kouryu and Anryu, man... mmm...

[DuelGundam2099]

Are you implying that there is something wrong with being a robosexual?

I am not, I was commenting on how fans can take things way too seriously that clearly are not there.

[2NA Fish]

Started with GaoGaiGAAAAAAAAAAARRR, then finished Might GAAAIIINNNEEE and have seen only a few episodes each of ExKaiser, J-Decker and Da Garn.

And finished Transformers Victory too. Thought I'd mention it because there are so many similarities to Yusha series, except for the fact Victory is much more awful.

The great thing about the Brave series is that they're all good clean fun. The downside I guess is that they're more like traditional Saturday morning cartoons. They simply weren't made to be watched in the marathons we anime fans like to do.

From what i've seen so far, Might Gaine is my favourite. I quite like Takamatsu Shinji's work.(also did J-Decker, School Rumble and Gundam X) Might Gaine is just so over the top cheesey and fun. It's got really loveable human characters but unfortunately, all the mechs have the same cookie cutter personality, and none of the supporting mechs ever win a fight anyway, which means the less air time they get, the better the episode. A luckless heroine working part-time jobs is a hilarious way to work her into the story every episode, and makes it the best running joke I've seen in any anime. Memorable moments in this series include Transformers Zone repaints, a silly episode about eradicating Nattou(that stuff is truly foul), and Exeveve lamenting "That's why I told them to take off the giant drill!!"

My favourite character from Might Gaine? Wolfgang. I really loved how they progressed him from whacky stereotypical mad inventor into an awesome multi-faceted character by the end of the series.

The wedding? Had to have it or the sappy girlie fans would all have cried.

[Destiny_Gundam]

I suppose is bears saying for people who aren't aware: When plans for BaanGaan were dropped, a lot of the concepts were recycled and used in Gear Fighter Dendoh which is considered a Brave series in spirit. Dendoh was actually really good, especially considering who made it, and I suggest checking it out.

[Fritz Ashlyn]

...Gear Fighter Dendoh which is considered a Brave series in spirit.

So does that mean I can say Brave Raideen is my favorite?

[DuelGundam2099]

Baan Gaan might have made an awesome series since Dendoh is my second favorite anime of all time after the Aquarion OVAs.

all the mechs have the same cookie cutter personality, and none of the supporting mechs ever win a fight anyway

I can't disagree, if anything aside from the titular mech himself you just don't care for the others all that much. Even then, at least the animal express has a couple emotional moments, the rescue express is just "there". What is an even bigger shame was that they only formed the Brave Express ONE FRIGGIN TIME!

The downside I guess is that they're more like traditional Saturday morning cartoons. They simply weren't made to be watched in the marathons we anime fans like to do.

BUT BUT BUT BUT!....... I like shows like that and like marathoning through them.

The wedding? Had to have it or the sappy girlie fans would all have cried.

[Destiny_Gundam]

Remember how I said I love the combination sequences?

I love the combination sequences.

... What is this obsession with lions, though?

[DuelGundam2099]

^Why Daltanious homages of course!

[Destiny_Gundam]

Also, how the heck does Super Fire Dagwon work? Two mecha go back to back, some stuff attaches to them, and then all of a sudden there's only one robot. Where'd the other one go?

[DuelGundam2099]

One broke down to form the rest of the other. A better question is where does Advenger store his weapons? They just come out of nowhere.

[2NA Fish]

Yeah, from what I've seen, the "magicalness" of some of the combinations in Dagwon are what lets it down a bit.

I can't disagree, if anything aside from the titular mech himself you just don't care for the others all that much. Even then, at least the animal express has a couple emotional moments, the rescue express is just "there". What is an even bigger shame was that they only formed the Brave Express ONE FRIGGIN TIME!

The TriBomber vs Joe fight was one of the great moments of the series. Yeah, I'm low-tier, but you'll get past me literally over my dead body!! If Rescue Express at least got ONE scene like that, it would have legitimised them in my eyes.

About the wedding again, Might Gaine was the Brave series which got the strongest female fan support, and that led Sunrise to try catering more to the female audience in later shows like G Wing.

[DuelGundam2099]

So yeah, yesterday I finished Goldran. It had some good things to it, but the ending was so incredibly stupid it made me want to punch a wall; least favorite in the franchise by FAR. Maybe I'll start watching Exkaiser over the weekend despite only the first six episodes being subbed, has anyone else here seen it or Da-Garn?

Might Gaine was the Brave series which got the strongest female fan support, and that led Sunrise to try catering more to the female audience in later shows like G Wing.

So they stopped at X? I can kind of see some appeal towards a female audience in J-Decker and Dagwon (GaoGaiGar's kind of debatable), although outside of Sharanla being an obnoxious creepy stalker I didn't see anything like that in Goldran. I did read a rumor somewhere that Yuuta in J-Decker was originally supposed to be a girl, but for whatever reason the execs made a last minute decision to make him a boy. Is there any evidence to back that claim up? That would explain why he looks like a mini-Jubilee.

[2NA Fish]

I started both Exkaiser and Da Garn, but they felt a bit too similar to Transformers Victory, so I've put them on the backburner to go through later.

Da Garn was the series that started having a decent female following actually. And yeah, J-Decker and Dagwon both had the female fans in mind too. Dagwon in particular shared many characteristics with the Raideen series that was produced in the same period - team of good looking guys with transformations where they get hard and metal.

I've heard the rumour that Yuuta was supposed to be female too, but haven't found any official sources yet. Apparently all main characters having to be guys is Bandai's fault, because robots piloted by girl characters don't sell as well.

[GX9900-Gundam-X]

Sadly i am ony aquainted with the king of Braves GaoGaiaGar but it was an amazing series non the less and well worth a watch

[primus2x]

J-Decker was my first brave series, and I absolutely loved it, especially how the robots deal with being sentient and having their memory wiped easily etc.
I started Da Garn but can't find episodes higher than episode 9. Some guy told me it had a Tomino-style ending, is that true?